A Cold Day

Here's G looking singularly unimpressed by a duck waddling past. I took this by the side of the River Colne in Marsden, after deciding it would be a good idea to drive over the top for a walk around the village. It's been one of those lovely winter days, mostly clear and sunny skies with a sprinkling of snow on the ground. We've had the odd mini-blizzard during the day, but we managed to get to Marsden and back without getting stranded.

Even though it's only a short distance away, Marsden seems to be much higher up than Dobcross, and it certainly seemed a lot colder today. Pushing G around I quickly found my hands going red and then numb, and she wasn't looking particularly warm either, so I called an early halt and stopped in at a coffee shop for a brew. It was selling some homemade ice cream, which seemed like an especially bold business decision in the middle of winter. I didn't try any.

Earlier, I went to the parent and baby group in the church hall in Dobcross. For the second week running I turned up with some homebaking to dish out in the form of millionaire's shortbread. This prompted some general discussion among the other mums along the lines of how I was putting them to shame. I can tell that if I keep bringing sweet treats every week, instead of becoming more popular (as you'd expect in, say, an office) it might actually have the opposite effect. Such are the paradoxes faced by the stay-at-home dad.

The group finishes with a little singsong for the kids (most of them are toddlers). Among the nursery rhymes I sang today, for the first time in at least 20 years, were Jack and Jill, The Grand Old Duke of York and Hickory Dickory Dock. G isn't old enough to join in yet, but when she is I hope she'll prefer something a bit trendier.

6 comments:

Tim Atkinson said...

Ah, you'll come to love those ditties and be so proud when she joins in! Just wait and see...

Dan said...

As I mentioned on twitter - we were in that coffee shop about an hour after you were. And being slightly more northern, and therefor tougher, the kids had ice cream.

I didn't though, as I'm not keen on it from there. Too creamy strangely.

kim mcgowan said...

It's a knife edge with those toddler group politics...
However, the genuinely nice people will continue to eat your tuck AND think well of you, believe me.
kim

Richard said...

The Dotterel - Yes I'm sure that's right, although some of them are better than others. Doctor Foster went to Gloucester is particularly lame, they must have serious drainage problems there.

Dan - I'll have to give the ice cream a go when I'm up there next, will let you know my considered (!) thoughts.

Kim - Yes, I think some people are surprised enough to see a stay at home dad, let alone one who likes to do a spot of homebaking!

Anonymous said...

Dudelet seems happy to eat ice cream regardless of how insanely unfriendly the weather conditions are. I'm not a regular at any parent and baby groups but I know supermum goes through all manner of horror trying to cope with the politics of "clearing up" or setting out the orange juice. They all tend to be a bit too big to settle into people bringing baking in, though. Suppose that's the downside of living in London.

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